Couple Awarded $2 Million in Medical Malpractice Case

A jury recently ruled in favor of a couple in a medical malpractice suit and awarded them nearly $2 million in damages to be paid by St. Vincent Hospital. The medical malpractice suit claimed that the misdiagnosis of several strokes that the husband suffered in 2004 and the delay in treatment for cancer at the hospital, led to legal blindness and her husband's inability to walk.

The wife expressed to local media following the ruling that she was pleased with the outcome but "no amount of money will cure her husband, who is unable to live at their home." The couple has been married for 38 years and she brings her husband home for special events now. However, due to his condition, he has "missed his eldest son's wedding, and her two other children, a daughter and another son."

What is Offers In Compromise?

In a nutshell, an offer in compromise is a taxpayer’s offer made to compromise and settle a delinquent tax liability. The amount the IRS is willing to accept in settlement is the cash equivalent of what the IRS could collect by levy or other seizure of the taxpayer’s income and assets, over a certain period of time. The IRS refers to this as the taxpayer's realizable collection potential. The offer of settlement may be made on the ground that the taxpayer does not have the financial ability to pay the fullliability, or there is doubt about the taxpayer's legal liability to pay the claim, or where under the circumstances it would be unfair to force the taxpayer to pay the claim. Recent amendments to the key IRS Code section authorizing compromises have imposed some new requirements to the offer process.

Law IRC §7122: The new law contains the following requirements for submission of an OIC:

• The taxpayer must pay 20% of the OIC at the time a lump-sum OIC application is submitted to the IRS for approval. The term “lump-sum OIC” means any offer of payments made in five or fewer installments.
• The taxpayer must pay the first proposed installment at the time a periodic payment OIC application is submitted to the IRS for approval.
• The taxpayer must continue to make the proposed installments of a periodic payment OIC during the time period the OIC is being evaluated by the IRS for approval. Any failure to make an installment during this period may be considered a withdrawal of the OIC.
• The application of any payment made under the above rules with respect to the tax liability may be specified by the taxpayer.
• The tax liability which is the subject of the OIC is reduced by any user fee
imposed with respect to the OIC.
• The IRS may issue regulations waiving the required payment rules above in a manner consistent with the practices established under Section 7122(d)(3).
• Any OIC which does not meet these new requirements may be returned to
the taxpayer as unprocessable.
• Any OIC submitted will be deemed to be accepted by the IRS if the OIC is not rejected by the IRS within 24 months after the date the OIC was submitted.
These new rules are effective for OICs submitted on and after July 16, 2006.

KEY BENEFITS: An offer in Compromise deemed processable by the IRS halts levy and other tax collection seizures during the time the offer is under consideration. Where this remedy applies, it is a good way to get the taxpayer a fresh-start; the IRS accepts a presumably small amount of money and forgets the rest. In some cases it can be said this remedy literally settles a huge tax debt for “pennies on the dollar,” although settlements that good are rare. A caveat is that the taxpayer is on a kind of “probation” for 5 years following the acceptance of the offer, during which the taxpayer must file all tax returns timely and pay the taxes due. Default may result in retraction of the agreement and demand for full payment.

Dealing with another driver's insurer when a crash is not your fault

Dealing with your car insurance company after a car crash can be a time-consuming hassle. Now imagine what it's like to deal with the insurance company of the person who crashed into your car. Here are some tips to ensure you maintain your cool — and your sanity — when making a claim with an at-fault person's insurer.

The driver that crashes into your car is responsible for reporting the accident to his or her car insurance company. However, it's a good idea for you to contact their insurer as well. Motorists who cause accidents are often reluctant to report them. So, it is important to obtain the most complete information from the at-fault person at the scene of the accident: insurance company name, claims phone number, address and even the insurance agent's name.

You should then inform the other person's insurer that you have been involved in a crash with one of its policyholders and disclose your property damages or injuries. Also, relay only the facts of the accident, even if you believe the other driver to be at fault. The police will ultimately determine who is at fault and the insurer will make its determination of fault based on the police recommendation, your commentary notwithstanding.

Although you may feel that you have not caused the accident, you should contact your insurance company anyway. This establishes your good-faith accident-reporting effort and can aid you if the other party's insurer denies responsibility for the accident.

June National Safety Month

Each June, the National Safety Council sponsors National Safety Month. There are so many differnt aspects to being safe and living healthy lifestyles, that we all too often forget or do not take into account. This year let's all make a difference!

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 8

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#8: Avoid driving next to, or in front of, passenger vehicles towing trailers. If these drivers are inexperienced at towing they might underestimate the time it takes to stop their vehicles with the extra weight of the trailer causing them to rear-end the vehicle in front of them ... take a turn too fast and lose control of their trailer. .. or momentarily forget that they are towing a trailer and attempt to merge in from of another car before the trailer has cleared it.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 5

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#5: Look through the car ahead of you. Most drivers focus on the back of the vehicle in from of them when they are on crowded roads. If that driver brakes or swerves suddenly, you might have little time to react. It is better to look through the rear window and front windshield of the car you are trailing to keep an eye on the vehicle ahead of it (assuming that tinted windows or some other elements of the vehicle's design do not block your view). This will provide more warning if there is a problem on the road ahead.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 4

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#4: Keep headlights on, even during the day, if you don't have daytime running lights. This increases the odds that other drivers will see you.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 3

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#3: Brake and accelerate in a straight line on wet roads. When roads are wet or icy, try to complete your braking before you enter a turn and begin accelerating only after you have come out of it. This reduces the odds of a skid.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck # 2

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#2: Choose routes with intersections that have left-turn green arrows particularly if you are over age 70 or live in a region with lots of older drivers. Turning left in front of oncoming vehicles at an intersection is a common driving mistake among those over 70 because age often impairs our ability to judge the speed of approaching traffic. Such collisions are much less common where traffic lights have green arrows that let drivers know when to turn.

Ways to Avoid A Car Wreck #1

Columbus, Ohio. According to personal injury attorney, David A. Bressman, nearly 40,000 people die each year in car wrecks. Further, of the nearly 6 million car wrecks yearly, almost 50% involve an injury. The best way to avoid injury is drive safely and prudently. This, of course, is obvious but too few "experts" give any meaning to driving safely and prudently. The following series is designed to give you some practical pointers on HOW to do this.

#1: Plan well. Stay off the roads between midnight and 3 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Drunk-driving collisions are most common during these hours. The safest time to drive on weekend nights is between 9 p.m. and midnight when most heavy drinkers are still at bars and parties. Most weekday crashes occur during the morning and evening rush hours, but these tend to be less severe crashes, not the frequently fatal smashups caused by drunk drivers. If you are planning a weekend event, make sure your guests leave before the above times to ensure safest travel. As well, if you are at a party, or have a loved one at a party, do your best to set a safe time to leave [and, of course, if you have imbibed of the alcoholic beverages, don't be stupid, have someone else, a sober someone else, drive you home or be prepared to stay the night].

Daylight Saving Time Switch & Increased Number Of Pedestrian Collisions & Car Accidents

The staff at the BressmanLaw reminds you to set your clocks back 1 hour this weekend. Please use extreme caution as you adjust to the time change and earlier darkness. When the clocks move back, pedestrian collisions, crosswalk accidents and personal injury cases involving motor vehicles are more likely.

According to a CNN report, pedestrians walking at dusk are three times more likely to be struck by a car than before the clocks are moved back.

The highest risk for pedestrians occurs around 6 p.m. during November. This risk decreases each month until May [when the spring time change and longer days cause accidents to drop dramatically]. Reports show that it is not the actual dark that causes these pedestrian car accidents, it is the drivers' adjustments to the earlier darkness.

Drivers: Be on the lookout for pedestrians as you drive at dusk and after dark.

Pedestrians: Take extra care to make sure that drivers can see you.

Be safe!

Sincerely,

The Staff of BressmanLaw